


Twisted Sister

by Ass_Gardiann, homicidalbrunette, Michael_hearteyes_Wheeler, reddielosers



Series: Double Trouble [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Although you don't need to have read anything else to follow this story, Complete, F/M, Gen, Modern AU, Post Season 2, Prequel, Prequel to In a Mirror Darkly, Set In The Modern Day, The Upside Down, but otherwise everything is the same
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2019-09-29 20:05:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17210063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ass_Gardiann/pseuds/Ass_Gardiann, https://archiveofourown.org/users/homicidalbrunette/pseuds/homicidalbrunette, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Michael_hearteyes_Wheeler/pseuds/Michael_hearteyes_Wheeler, https://archiveofourown.org/users/reddielosers/pseuds/reddielosers
Summary: In which El's Upside Down doppelgänger comes to Hawkins. COMPLETE.





	1. The D&D Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic takes place in the same universe as "In a Mirror, Darkly" and "True Romance". It is set after "True Romance" and directly BEFORE the events of "In a Mirror, Darkly." But you don't need to know anything about the other two fics in this series to read this.
> 
> There's also some age discrepancies because I decided to age up everyone to 20 years old in A Mirror Darkly but they are still teens in this fic. But um, just ignore that, cuz their age isn't super important to anything (and also a wizard did it).

Hop's car pulled up onto Mike’s driveway. Dungeons and Dragons night. Her first one. And still one of the first few times she was being allowed to venture out of the cabin. El felt excited, but also strangely nervous. She wanted to have a fun night. She still wasn’t quite sure what Dungeons and Dragons was all about, but she wanted to get it right. She wanted to feel normal, and to fit in. Just like one of the Party.

"Thanks Hop. I'll be back soon," El gave him a peck on the cheek and left the car. As she approached the Wheelers’ front door, she saw that two familiar figures were already there. "Oh, hi Lucas,” She paused, her voice noticeably less cheery, adding, “Hi Max.” El nodded at the redhead. Things were still….strange between them. She had seen Max giggling at Mike at the gym like she liked him, but at the Snow Ball, Max had spent all her time dancing with Lucas. And now here she was, with Lucas again. Did she like Lucas now? Did that mean she didn’t like Mike anymore? El wasn’t sure, and she wasn’t sure how to ask, either. She just knew she felt weird around Max, and if she were being honest, she wished the Party were still the way it had been last year. Just Dustin, Lucas, Mike, and her.

Lucas and Max exchanged looks that El couldn’t decipher, but knew wasn’t exactly positive. Lucas looked like he was about to say something when the basement door opened.

“Hi Mike,” El said, momentarily forgetting the awkward tension of just a few seconds before. 

“Hey El,” he returned, a dopey grin on his face.

Someone cleared their throat, causing Mike’s eyes to dart away from hers.

“We’re also here, Wheeler,” Max rolled her eyes, stepping past El and into the Wheelers’ basement, Lucas following on her heels.

El followed the pair down the steps into the basement. She hadn't been back here too many times since...well, she got swallowed up into the Upside Down last fall. She noticed her fort was still in the corner, looking exactly the same as it had always been.

Mike followed everyone into the basement, locking the door behind them. He should have felt excited that it was Dungeons and Dragons night, and that El was finally allowed to be here as a part of that, but there was an odd tension in the air. He wondered if it was a good idea to have a game night without Dustin and Will around, the peacemakers of the group, but he had been so excited when El told him Hop was allowing her out tonight that he had pushed it forward, anyway. Now he was starting to wonder if that had been a good idea, after all.

El looked around between Mike, Lucas and Max. "Is this... going to be all of us tonight?"

Lucas grunted in something resembling agreement, his hands stuffed in his pockets as he took up a seat. It was the most noise he had made so far that night, which was odd, especially for him. El had taken notice, but it didn’t seem to bother anyone else. Either that, or they were intentionally ignoring the situation.

"Uh, yeah,” Mike nodded. “Will is at his dad's house, unfortunately, and Dustin is still at summer camp."

“Lucas.” El sat down, eyeing her friend suspiciously. The pair had had a bit of reputation for not getting along 100% and it had only been a few hours ago that she had jokingly exposed his high-pitched squeal on the group chat. But that had all been in jest, right? The Party made fun of each other like that all the time and it wasn’t like no one had ever heard him scream before. Was he mad about that? Surely not… usually when Lucas was mad, he was the opposite of quiet. Still… “Lucas, are you okay?”

Lucas shrugged, "I'm fine." he replied somewhat stiffly, Max had placed a hand on his shoulder for a moment, and he seemed to relax slightly at her touch. But then he shrugged her off, and opened up his bag, making himself busy with rifling through it. "Peachy."

El shrugged. Well, she had asked. Whatever was going on with Lucas, it didn't seem like he wanted to share.

Mike looked between the three of them, trying to see if he should intervene. Finally he just decided to take his usual seat at the table and pulled up his DM screen. "Um...so should we get started?"

They all nodded, but everyone remained, for the most part, in awkward silence.

Despite his silence and awkward posture, Lucas couldn’t help but feel bad. But he felt worse for Max. Not that it seemed to really be affecting her, but these things tended to simply get on his nerves.There was bad blood between El and Max, and from his point of view, there was no need for it. There was no reason why that should be a thing and even after almost six whole months of hanging around each other, El had been constantly giving Max the cold shoulder, and to her credit, Max had taken it in stride. Lucas hadn’t caught it then, and when Max had finally asked him, “What is up with your friend Eleven? I think she hates me and I don’t know why?” he had been just as at a loss as she. “Give her some time,” he’d said, remembering his own discomfort with a new and unexpected member of the group. “Maybe she just needs some getting used to you.”

But that was four months ago.

And things still hadn’t changed.

"You're really quiet tonight, Lucas. Are you sure you're okay?"

Lucas rolled his eyes as El looked at him, crossing his arms, "I'm fine." he repeated firmly. He didn't want to start a fight or get into one, but his limits where being tested already. He had had a lot of time to think about the Max-El situation recently and the more they sat in the same room in silence, the higher the tensions seemed to rise. "I don't know what part of that sentence doesn't make sense?"

"You don't have to get rude." El pushed. Well, no not so much pushed, more like, put forward. She wasn’t the most demanding type, but there was no doubt to the underlying tone of her voice.

“He’s no-” Max began, rising to Lucas’ defense, but Lucas interrupted her, closing his eyes.

“I’m not being rude, El.”

Mike and Max were looking at each other now and you could hear the sigh as Mike tried to busy himself with creating a tower out of the DnD dice. The conversation felt too private and intense to be picking sides on, especially with the people involved.

"You kind of are, Lucas."

Lucas clenched his fists in his pockets. “Right. Cause you’re one to talk about being rude.” He kept his gaze down and away from her, clearing putting in some level of restraint. But it wasn’t enough.

“And what is that supposed to mean?”

“Oh come on, don’t play stupid about this.”

“You’re just mad because I exposed your girly scream today.” That was true right? Thinking back, that was the only thing this could be about. El hadn’t had any personal grievances with Lucas for awhile and him starting this now confused her.

“You think that’s the problem?” he asked, clearly affected by the implication of childish grudge. He stood up, finally looking at El with a harsh glare.

“Lucas it’s-” Max had piped up again, reaching over and tugging on the sleeve of his shirt in an attempt to get him to stop, but he was already riled up now and he couldn’t see a way to revert. He was in too deep, this conversation was happening.

“Yes.” El said simply. She stayed seated, but Lucas took a step back from the table, causing Mike’s tower of dice to topple to the floor.

Lucas began to pace. Not far, just back and forth a little, his hands still stuffed in his pockets as he tried to calm down, just a little. This conversation needed having, right? This was important. All he had to do was keep his tone calm.

“You really are that big headed, aren’t you, El?” he snapped.

Well shit.

“I thought you had changed you know?” he continued, “I thought you would change. It’s been six months and still nothing. Not even an attempt. But why should you bother? Why even try? You can’t just expect things to work out. The world doesn’t just bend to your will!”

El was taken aback. Big headed? She recalled that that meant something like....loving herself too much. "I'm not big headed. I don't know what you're talking about. You just go around always angry at everyone! You give everyone such a hard time, and when you get a little of it back, you can't handle it!"

  
What Lucas was saying to her was hurtful, and unexpected. She hadn’t realized he still hated her so much. He’d spent that whole first week calling her a weirdo and insinuating all sorts of bad things about her, and here he was doing it again. She thought he’d changed, but it didn’t seem like he had.

The feelings of guilt over having this argument in front of his friends was long gone. Did she not understand? Did she not get it? As soon as she had started piping up Lucas couldn’t help but let his mind go, and his mouth just took what thoughts there were and ran.

“Not big headed? You’re kidding? You act like the world revolves around you! No one has to like you El. Not me, not Mike, not Will and especially not Max.” Max shrunk a little in her seat at the mention. She, of course, agreed with what Lucas was saying, but there was a time and a place and this was neither of those things. Besides, she hadn’t been that bothered. She had gotten used to it. That’s how things were going to be and that was just that. She had shared her issues with Lucas in confidence after all. Lucas had started forward toward El as he spoke, but she didn’t back down, she didn’t shrink away.

“It’s been six months and I still haven’t heard you say more than ‘hi’ to her? And for what? What has she done to you? Is it that hard to just be a human being?”

The basement began to vibrate. Slowly at first, just a small shift. Her hands were shaking and she stood up. Lucas kept his eyes on El, letting out a short scoffing laugh as he inwardly freaked about the situation. This was the last thing anyone had wanted tonight, especially him. Mike was standing up now too and Max was clinging onto her chair, having only really seen El use her powers once before.

"Yeah sure, rely on your powers. Like always.” Lucas sneered. “I guess that’s easier than a simple ‘sorry’ anyway. Whatever. I'm going home." He swiped his papers from the table and grabbed his bag. He hated that he was afraid of his... friend? He wasn't sure if she was anymore, but the fear didn't help his mood one bit.

And then El flicked her head and Lucas felt himself freeze.

"Don't bother," she hissed through clenched teeth. "You can stay. I'll go." Still holding Lucas in place, she grabbed her things hastily, not wanting anyone to see the tears that were starting to spill down her cheeks.

“El -” Mike made his first move in a while and started to follow her, but skidded on one of the fallen die. She was gone before he could correct himself, the door slamming shut behind her and Lucas falling forward as her grip released.

The sensation of being held in place was terrifying and weird and Lucas’s insecurity in the situation only grew as he stumbled forward himself. “Fuck you Eleven!” he shouted after her.

“Lucas!” Max exclaimed, sounding almost as angry at him as he had sounded at El. But Lucas wasn’t listening. His mind was racing with a mix of anger and fear and concern. The conversation had not gone well at all, and it had most certainly not put his mind at ease. But he hadn’t said anything he hadn’t meant, and perhaps that was the most horrifying part of all.

“What the fuck man?” Mike asked, giving him a look. “Great going. Jesus. Um… you two stay here. I’ll-I’ll go look for her.” He stammered. He gave a firm nod after a moment more of hanging around and began for the door.

“Mike, it’s dark out.” Max protested. The tension in the room was starting to diffuse, but their shoulders were still tight and their voices still weak. Lucas had fallen back into his seat.

“Yeah? So?”

“So? You aren’t going to get much luck without a light," she stated pointedly. He just looked confused, and a little stressed, a little done. “Idiot," she added, her voice was a little shaky. The insult was lame and not hard hitting, but despite that, Mike appreciated the effort. He took a few steps back down the stairs. 

“Right. Light," he agreed.

“Here.” Lucas dug through his bag and held out a torch. He always had a torch nowadays, ever since Will had gone missing. Just in case.

Mike didn’t say anything immediately. He looked almost hesitant to take the offering, but it was the fastest avenue and despite the fight, Lucas was still trying to help. It was something. He reached for the flashlight.

And then it started blinking.

And flashing.

Lucas retracted his hand immediately. The flashlight fell to the floor. Bounce. Bounce. Crack.

It split open, batteries rolling out across the wooden floor. Yet the light still blinked. And then the room blinked. A flicker here, a flicker there. The lamp in the corner lit up in a bright burst and then died in a loud shatter all at once. The lights were gone.

Max let out a surprised yelp, covering her mouth in shock. She hadn’t experienced the lights before. “What’s going on? What’s happening? Lucas? Mike? Hello?”

They didn’t answer her immediately. The pair instead staring into each others eyes with a dawning realization.

"Gone." Lucas whispered breathily, his eyes beginning to fill with tears. “She’s… she’s gone.” There was no certainty, no hard facts, no evidence, but he knew it to be true.

“We need to find El. Now.” Mike had gotten onto the floor, patting blindly around for the batteries, one, two, and three. He picked them up and shoved them back into the flashlight. “Now!”

But Lucas wasn’t moving. And Max was looking as confused as ever, but she was standing up, cautiously.

Mike gave one last look around the room, “Fine. I’ll go myself.” And he was off. Up and out the door, light in hand.

Max stood, stuck between following Mike and staying with Lucas. The severity of the situation was not something she understood, though in her experience, things with the Party leant themselves to extreme circumstances and situations. Still. The choice between following someone she was sure hated her and hanging with a guy in the midst of an emotional break still wasn’t one she was exactly thrilled to be making this evening.

“You shouldn’t have said those things," Max stated, still sounding a little shaken. “Though, I guess you already knew that. I’ll umm… I’ll talk to you tomorrow. We-we can fix this.”

And then she was gone too.


	2. The Monster

El ran blindly for a while in the direction back to the cabin, Lucas’s words turning over and over again in her head. Time seemed to disappear around her as she ran, and after some time she couldn’t recognize a thing in sight. It was dark and the street lights were far behind her, like some distant memory or mistake. A mistake that was so clear and heavy in her mind. She knew in general she must be somewhere between home and Mike’s place, or, she thought she had to be. All that was certain were the tall trees and the soft breeze that wafted around her, luring her further in, trying to lull her thoughts away.

But she wasn’t afraid of the woods. She wasn’t new to their darkness. After all, she had spent practically the whole winter out here on her own before Hop found her. And before that, she had become accustomed with running through the terrain, blind and cold as rain dropped and dribbled from leaf to leaf, drenching Benny’s thin, yellow shirt until it clung to her body.

But the woods looked different this time. There were still the same trees, the same sights and sounds….but nothing seemed familiar. Had she gotten lost? Everything seemed somehow…. foreign. Grey. Dead.

There were no leaves on the trees here, no living ones anyway. Brown and dead and burnt and crunching beneath her feet. It was summer, but why was it so cold? Why was it so _cold_? 

Was this a new part of the woods? Had she gone too far, ventured further into the unknown?

No.

She couldn’t have. She knew that twisted branch, she knew that stilted shrub. She looked up. There was no moon. Was there always no moon? Everything was off. Where was she?  
  
She skidded to a halt, a tense feeling in her stomach as she spun in circles for a moment, her eyes narrowing to adjust to the the darkness. She should have stayed closer to the lights, she should have stayed closer to the street. She shouldn’t have run out. But it was too late for should have’s now.  
  
A twig snapped somewhere in the grayness and she felt herself involuntarily jump.

She cleared her throat, “Who’s there?”

No response.

“Mike?”

She took a cautious step toward the sound, her eyes scanning through the dull grey. Had he come after her? Would he come after her? She hoped so. She really did. But she wasn’t so sure.

“Mike?” she tried again. She took another small step.

And then a growl broke out behind her. She knew that sound. She’d heard it before. It was ghastly and grotesque, gurgling and bubbling. The kind of sound that caused instant panic, the kind of sound that gripped at your very being. The same sound she had heard in the science room of Hawkins Middle all but two years ago.  
  
Turning around was a bad idea. But it didn’t stop her feet from moving. The movement felt like it took years. All thoughts of Lucas and their fight were out of her mind now. It was just her and whatever was behind her. Whatever she could see out the corner of her eyes.  
  
It was nothing and then everything. All at once her fears were confirmed.

It looked the same as she remembered. All skin and gore, dripping and oozing in all the wrong places. Almost human in its stature, but monstrous in size, hideous in scale. Deep greys and muted pinks blending into scaly, leathery skin. The growl echoed once more, low. El could almost see it’s vocal chords withering like maggots beneath it’s rotten slime. And then it roared, it’s large maw gaping at her like some sort of hideous flower, rows and rows of sharp knife-like teeth spitting out at her.  
  
She opened her mouth in a small, choked gasp. No sudden movements. No loud sounds. Silence. Stillness.  
  
Another twig crunched behind her. She wouldn’t turn around. She couldn’t turn around. But she could hope. The world seemed to flicker with light. A light yellow haze.

“Eleven?”

No. Not now. Anytime but now. But she could hear the footsteps running, they weren’t like the demogorgon, they weren’t well placed, cautious, or aware. They were messy and slippery and they were Mike's. It was Mike. It was always Mike.

“Mike… don’t come any further.” Her voice escaped her lips in a whisper and she was certain he wouldn’t hear her. She turned slowly, just her head, just enough. And then she saw him skid to a halt. Their eyes met and then his gazed slowly slid past her.

“Oh shit…” She heard him say. It was too late.

The creature jerked. They had been heard. She turned to Mike.

“Don't!" She shouted, "Get out of here!"  The words came out all at once in a stressed rush, barely distinguishable from one another.

The monster was charging towards them, its feet kicking up dirt as it lunged, faster, closer. El stood between Mike and the demogorgon, and she only had one option.

She looked up. She could see the moon now, shining down, watching, waiting. She knew where she was. She knew what she needed to do.

With as much energy as she could muster, she thought back to Kali, back to moving that truck, back to the lab, back to closing the gate.

And she pushed. With everything she had. She pushed at Mike until she could no longer see him.

And just like that, it was lights out.


	3. The Aftermath

Mike hit the ground hard, his head ringing and his body stunned. He had gone after El and disappeared into the woods near his home, taking the way he always did to the cabin. Everything was normal. Everything looked as it did on any other day. But it hadn’t been. Things were horribly wrong. 

“Fuck…..” He scrambled to his feet, charging forward. “El? Eleven?!” 

Where she had stood just a moment, mere feet in front of him, was now nothing. No sight or trace of her, or the thing that had been behind her. They were both gone, disappeared into thin air right in front of him. 

In an instant he felt two emotions, both equally powerful and both pushing him to tears.

One. Despair.

That El was gone. That she was going to die, that there will be nothing anyone can do this time.

And two. Anger.

It was over. She was gone.

He made the miserable trek out of the woods, back towards his house, angry and tired as his ears rung and his mind buzzed. He could taste blood in the back of his throat, as if he had a nosebleed that never came to fruition. 

Maple Street came into view before he could even register that he had walked that far. He could see the silhouette of his mother and her book club laughing in the living room. Disgusting. Why the fuck should anyone laugh? How the fuck could anyone be happy? Why couldn’t he go back to the way things were before, when Demogorgens just were fictional monsters from a stupid D&D game?

He knew why. In some ways. But it didn’t make it hurt less. 

The sense of urgency overtook his own guilt like a game of tug-o-war. El’s face, so certain, so scared, flashed before his eyes and he lifted his hand to touch his own wet cheeks, wiping the tears away on his shirt. 

Will was out. Dustin was out. And Lucas was right there. Despite the events that transpired only that half-hour ago, he knew Lucas would have his back. He knew Lucas would help. And if he could get him to snap out of whatever mess he was in, then they could find a way, right? They always did, didn’t they?

He turned on his heels away from his own front door and headed instead towards the Sinclairs. 

He didn’t bother knocking. He and Lucas had always kept the door to their houses unlocked, most of the time without their parents’ knowledge. They lived so close to each other, and they were at each other’s houses all the time; it had just been easier that way. Now, as he burst in through the Sinclair’s front door, still reeling from what he had just witnessed  _ Don’t! Get out of here!  _ Lucas’s parents, and Erica, looked up at him with startled faces. 

“Michael? What on Earth -” Mr. Sinclair started, but Mike couldn’t even  _ think _ right now. He needed to see Lucas. He needed to find his best friend and one of the only people in the world who would understand the full implications of what had just happened to El. Again. 

"Hi sorry - I need to talk to Lucas!" He yelled over his shoulder, already leaving them behind for the den. 

Lucas was where he always was. Or where he always was when he was feeling like this. Silent sobs were making his shoulders shake, but they came weaker and weaker each time and he stared at his hands with an overwhelming sense of dread. How could he let this happen... how did something like this  _ even  _ happen? Was the Demogorgon back? Had the Gate been re-opened? The lights had blinked ominously,  _ all  _ the lights, and the only time that happened was when something had been taken into the Upside Down. But it couldn’t be, could it? El had closed the Gate and it was over, it was  _ over  _ \- 

And then Mike was suddenly there. Where had he come from? In the back of his mind Lucas had heard a vague commotion in the living room and he supposed now that that had been Mike making his entrance. 

He didn't look up as Mike walked in the room. He knew what was about to happen. He had it coming, he supposed. And he thought with shame that he didn’t even have the words for Mike. This wasn't supposed to happen. 

He looked up at his best friend, his best friend who was shaking and desperate and angry and Lucas felt so small and so insignificant and so stupid. 

He opened his mouth to speak. Just one word. Anything. Something to say to make his friend feel better, to apologize, or to help, or explain, or fix the situation, but he had nothing. His voice croaked and creaked, but nothing came out. What was wrong with him?

Mike was almost vibrating with desperation. His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides, and deep sobs shook his body. "Lucas. Lucas! "

Mike shook his head. None of this petty bullshit mattered. He knew Lucas as well as anyone, he knew him  _ better _ than anyone, even if he confused Mike sometimes. Whatever stupid fight, or bullshit argument, had happened,  didn't matter. Not now that El was probably dead somewhere. Ripped to shreds on the dead leaves in the woods. 

He wanted to vomit at the thought. He sobbed harder. "Lucas! El she, she... I don't- she fucking- the Demogorgon!” The words weren’t coming out of his mouth right. He was shouting. “The fucking demorogen, Lucas!” 

Lucas couldn't move. He was frozen by his own mistakes. His own errors and idiocy. How many mistakes could one kid make? Apparently too many. He had tried so hard to stay strong for the party, to stay calm and to stay reasonable and to build those walls and keep strong. But he couldn't do it. And then Mike was shouting and still Lucas remained silent. The words Mike were saying. Lucas didn't hear. He couldn't comprehend them. Not really. 

"Wh-where's El?" he asked shakily, his own voice sounding empty and hollow in his ears. He could see the pain in his friend. There was so much desperation, so much anger and sadness and -- and Lucas didn't know what to do. What to say.

"She’s fucking  _ dead _ , Lucas!" Mike collapsed into an oversized arm chair. It wasn't true exactly. El was strong. If El could fight the monster once, she could do it again, but that's how it felt. Like she was dead this time. Really gone. The way Mike had been pushed away, the way he had been tossed out of the Upside Down from the all the force she had exerted. It felt exactly like before. "Shes fucking... dead."

Lucas couldn't look at Mike anymore. Dead... no.  _ No _ . Lucas knew it had been his fault. This was... if he'd just…..

He couldn't finish a thought, and he couldn’t even look at Mike. His body ran cold and everything felt far away.Lucas had killed her. He had killed El. 

There was nothing to say to Mike. What could he say? All it would do was start another fight and then... and then what? Mike? Will? Dustin? Max? Who was next? He gulped for air, feeling as if he were submerged under waves. After everything with Will... and now El was gone. No. Not gone. Dead. 

Barely breathing, Lucas tried to stand up. He had to be sure. He had to... he had to see her. 

"W-where?" he asked, his voice barely audible as he clutched onto the back of the chair for support.

Mike held his head in his hands. He felt like he was going to spontaneously combust. He didn't even care if he did at this point. He couldn't even be angry at Lucas, he was just angry in general. Disgusted even. He thought of Hopper; how would he tell him? He thought of Will, and of the the horrible things this would bring back for him. His head swam and he felt sick. 

"In the woods. Except... " Except it wasn’t the woods. He gasped for air. "In the upside down." He wanted to say that he didn't know if El was dead for certain, but he couldn't bring himself to hope for anything better. He didn't want to get his hopes up at all.

Lucas didn't even respond. He just started for the door. He had to find her. He had to see her. He had done this. He had signed her death certificate and he needed to pay for his crime. Without a word he hobbled slowly out the door, ignoring the chatter from his parents as he made his way outside and clumsily got on his bike. He didn't even grab his bag, and his jacket was still inside. But he didn't care. He  _ couldn't _ care. He had to see for himself. He had to find her... somehow. It didn't matter how. Nothing mattered. He was a murderer. 

He put one foot in front of the other and made his way down the street as fast as he could go, headed for the woods, for the cabin, for wherever he needed to be. He had to find something.. anything.

Mike moved to follow, slowly, not even knowing where he was going or what he was going to do, but he damn well wasn’t going to let anything happen to Lucas, too. Not now that they had lost El. Even if Lucas had caused the fight, even if it was his fault, no one could have predicted this. Right? Mike was trying to be reasonable, but it was hard. "Lucas! Wait! What are you doing?"

Lucas didn't answer. Even if he wanted he didn't think he would be able to. He could barely bike in a straight line let alone explain anything. Mike was better off without him anyway, right? He still had the rest of the Party. Lucas couldn't ruin that too. He couldn't hurt them anymore. He had to fix this, but deep down he knew he couldn't fix anything. It was over.

Mike stood in the middle of the street, watching his friend bike away. A pang of guilt and desperation hit him so hard he nearly doubled over. "Lucas wait! I can't lose you too!"

Lucas didn’t slow, or even change direction. Mike screamed into his hands. He wanted to run into the basement and never come out again, but it wasn’t time to call it quits. He stumbled toward his own house, grabbing his bike. With a few deep breaths and another muffled yell after Lucas, Mike got on, riding after his friend, just as the sun began to rise overhead.

 


	4. The Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took forever to update this. This fic takes place in the same universe as "In a Mirror, Darkly" and "True Romance". It is set after "True Romance" and directly BEFORE the events of "In a Mirror, Darkly." But you don't need to know anything about the other two fics in this series to read this. 
> 
> There's also some age discrepancies because I decided to age up everyone to 20 years old in A Mirror Darkly but they are still teens in this fic. But um, just ignore that, cuz their age isn't super important to anything (and also a wizard did it).

The last time she was here was almost exactly two years ago. Running through the gray halls of what appeared to be an abandoned Hawkins Middle School, screaming Mike's name. Somehow El had found her way out. She would just have to do it again.

She made her way through the halls, trying to work through her memory. It was slow going; she had a slight limp from a possibly twisted ankle.

She had barely just pushed Mike back and closed _that_ portal off before the Demogorgen had been on her. It took all her strength to keep him suspended, frozen in mid-air as it had leapt at her. Holding Lucas still during their fight had taken no more effort than patting down a stray hair on hear head, but holding off the Demogorgen had felt like pulling a mack truck.

Screaming, she had thrown it as hard as she could against the wall, and before it could react, used the last remaining strength she had to snap its neck.

That had been eight hours ago, or at least, she thought so. She had dragged herself away from the woods and tried to find…anywhere. Anywhere that was safe in this world.

Somehow, she found herself back at the school. This was where it had been last time anyway, the portal. Her way back home.

Finally, El found it.

It looked familiar enough. This was where it had been. The portal she’d used to get back from the Upside Down last time. But where there was a gaping hole before, covered in slime, all she saw now was the smooth surface of the wall.

"No. No. No!" El covered her head in her hands, crying tears of frustration. "Think El, think...."

She would just have to do it. She would have to open a portal herself. It wasn't going to be easy, if it was anything like closing a portal, thinking back to that night with Hop and the lab.

Still, she had to try.

She reached both arms out, concentrating hard on the wall in front of her. Before long, her nose was bleeding, something which had not happened in a long time. A small crack started to appear, widening painfully slowly. El started to grow dizzy from the effort. Why wasn't this happening more quickly?

After the fight with the Demogorgen, she didn't think she had much in her to spare. She began to tire out, feeling dizzy and faint, and had only managed to make a hole the size of a basketball.

Too small to fit through.

Just then, she heard a low growl in the distance. She would have to come back another time. She had to hide.

_\- Later -_

How long had she been here? It must have been days. There was no way to tell time in the Upside Down. There didn't appear to be a sun.

El crawled out of her hiding space, making her way back to where she remembered the portal had been. She had to keep going. She had to get back. She just had to.

She rounded the corner and there it was.

 _Oh my God_.

She had expected to find it as she had left it - a hole about the size of a basketball in the wall. But now its length spread up the entirety of the wall, more than big enough for her to fit through. She fought back a sob of joy at the sight, beginning to limp over hurriedly.

But before she could get too close, she was stopped dead in her tracks. It was a girl, wandering up to the portal.

El drew back, afraid. She had never run into another person in the Upside Down before. She didn't think there _were_ any people in the Upside Down. Who was she?

El chewed on her lip, thinking. Should she call out? Maybe this person could help her. Or maybe _they_ needed help.

She decided to give it a try; after all, she still had her powers to protect her if it came to that.

"Hey --" Before she could get the words out, a Demogorgen came thundering out of nowhere from the girl's other side. She still had her back turned to it when it collided heavily against her. "No...no! Watch out!"

But it was too late. The Demogorgen had got her; the speed of its impact knocking both itself and the girl into the opening in the wall. Then, they both disappeared, along with the portal.

-

Mike and Lucas walked quietly, slowly, through the empty hallway of Hawkins Middle. After they had gone off on their bikes, both boys feeling numb and aimless, they had just ridden and ridden and ridden. They had rode past the junkyard, the quarry, the woods by the cabin, sometimes calling out for El, sometimes riding in silence. It was useless. Mike knew she was dead. He had seen it.

Somehow they found themselves back at the school.

“Mike…” Lucas looked up at him, his tired eyes mirroring Mike’s own. “It’s closed. She…she won’t be here. She’s….” _gone_. They both thought it, but neither said it.

Mike looked to the school doors again. “The last time this happened….” The gears were starting to grind in his head again. He had thought he heard her here, last time, with Max. He had thought he was going crazy. But she had been there, _she had been there._

“This is where El came back out. She told me.”

“What?” Lucas looked at him with incredulous eyes.

“When El disappeared after stopping the Demogorgen last time….she told me later that…this was where she came back out. She found a portal and it was here. It was at the school.”

Something lit up in Lucas’s eyes then. Something like hope. Maybe Mike was feeling it too.

Lucas nodded, “Let’s go then.”

The door to the school was unlocked. Strange.

Inside it was quiet and empty. That wasn’t so strange, though it was eerie. It was the weekend.

The boys walked on in silence, not quite sure where they were going or what they were looking for. They hadn’t said much since leaving Mike’s house. Mike still didn’t know how to feel, or what to do. He just felt numb. Because it was happening all over again. El dead and missing and gone.

_THUD! THUD! THUD!_

“What was that?” Mike whispered, Lucas tensing up beside him. It was a sound they’d heard before, and it wasn’t a good sign.

-

 _Fuck._ The thing had caught her by surprise. She was usually much more aware of her surroundings than this, but the truth was she hadn't eaten in days and the Party were getting desperate. It was the only reason why she was in that shithole middle school to begin with.

Before Eleven knew what was happening, the thing had knocked her into.... _something_... and then both she and it had hit the floor, hard.

Eleven's head thudded against the cold tile of the old school. "You little fuck - you're going to pay for that."

She rolled away from the thing, which appeared similarly dazed by their mutual fall. Within seconds however, it had jumped back up to its feet, unfurling its ugly mouth and _hissing_ at her. It must've been pissed too.

"Fucking die," she said, and raised her arm up to it, aiming her palm directly at its head. The air in front her hand shimmered before entering the Demogorgen, whose head exploded like a ripe melon.

It dropped to the ground, dead.

-

It was unmistakable. The muffled sounds of a struggle in the quiet of the empty hallway. Without thinking, he and Lucas run towards the sound.

Mike took a few blind turns, just running, searching for the sounds of something, anything, and then he saw her.

El.

Just as the head of the Demogorgen exploded, smearing the wall behind it.

Mike’s mouth gaped open, trying to process what he was seeing before an overwhelming sense of relief nearly sent him to his knees. "EL!? HOLY SHIT ELEVEN!"

She turned around. Someone was calling her name. "Twelve?"

But what was he doing here? He was supposed to be at the quarry today with the rest of the Party, scavenging.

Mike ran to her, totally oblivious to anything other than the fact that she was alive, throwing his arms around her, tears already forming in his eyes. "El! El, oh my god, oh my god we thought you were dead! Lucas and I we... never mind. None of that matters now. You're here. And you're safe?"

Twelve's hug caught her by surprise, but she returned it, glad to see him, too. When she pulled away, she saw there were tears in his eyes though.

Strange. Twelve never cried. He never cared about anything enough to.

"Wh-what's wrong?" She asked in confusion. Perhaps her head had been hit a little too hard. Her hand went to the spot where her skull had collided with the ground. She winced when she felt a bump forming.

Mike was beaming at her, wiping tears from his eyes and grinning as wide as the day she came back the first time. "Nothing is wrong now. You’re here and that’s what matters. I thought I lost you. Lucas and I, we, jesus, we ran away from home. I.... we didnt know what to do or where to go but, we came here to find you. You’re so strong, El. I can’t believe you can... kill those things like that...." The worry of what had happened, or what had caused it, was not on his mind. For now he was just glad that she was safe, and alive, and back.

Eleven thought she must have fallen harder than she realized. Twelve was talking at her a mile a minute, and she had trouble following his words. She felt dizzy and a little nauseated. "I need..."

Fourteen was there, but he wasn’t doing jack shit to help her. And where was Fifteen and Sixteen? "Where is the rest of the Party? I thought you were supposed to all be at the quarry. What's going on -"

Suddenly she started to sag, nearly dropping to her knees. She touched her head and her hand came away red with blood.

Mike caught her in his arms, alarmed. "Oh fuck! Lucas! Lucas, help me carry El back to the Byers’. They’re the closest from here.” Mike didn’t want anyone else to get involved, but now that El was actually _alive_ and injured, he knew he needed help from someone else. Taking her to the hospital wasn’t an option, not without Hopper being around to cover the tracks. “Quick! I think she... she's bleeding."

-

“What the hell happened?” Joyce Byers was panicking. It was supposed to be a quiet Sunday with some quality time with her youngest, Jonathon spending most of his free time now with his new girlfriend, the Wheeler’s eldest girl.

And after all the shit Joyce had been through, still nothing could quite prepare her to see Mike and Lucas burst through her living room door with El Hopper sagging between them.

"El, she..." Mike lowered her delicately onto the couch, panicking and exhausted. "She killed a Demogorgon but I think she hit her head. She's... she’s bleeding."

There wasn’t time to even ask questions. The young girl was in bad shape. Joyce nodded. "Mike, there’s a first aid kit in the bathroom, quick!"

Eleven looked around, confused. Who's house was she in? Some random shitty human’s? How did Twelve and Fourteen know this woman? “What's...what's happening?"

The woman was hovering over her. "El sweetie do you remember what happened? You have a nasty cut.”

Eleven felt bewildered. Was she hallucinating? Had she hit her head that hard? Suddenly her stomach growled. "Food." she said to the woman. "Get me food."

Joyce took her hand gently. "Sweetie, its going to be okay. We need to take care of your injury. I can go make you Eggos in a sec. Does that sound okay?"

Eggos? What the hell was that? Eleven looked around the place. They seemed to be fully stocked. Twelve and Fourteen must've really stumbled on a gold mine. "Fresh vegetables....fruit....do they have that? I want that."

Joyce looked to Lucas. It was an unexpected request, from El. Still, Lucas nodded, heading to the counter to get an apple.

Eleven bit into the apple. She hadn't had fresh fruit in two years.

Mike came stumbling back in with the first aid kid, and Joyce set to tending on her head wound.

"Why are you dressed like that? Did you take these off of someone?" Eleven asked, gesturing to Mike’s clothes. Twelve never wore anything but black. And his hair was curly, not straight.

She grinned slyly at him, "Is this a game?"

"No El...” Mike started in consternation. She must have really hit her head hard, maybe even got a concussion. They would have to get her to a hospital soon, Hop or no Hop. “It’s not a _game_ but it’s going to be okay. I’m right here okay?"

Eleven was starting to get irritated. Whatever was going on, Twelve and Fourteen had no right to keep her in the dark.

"Where is Thirteen? I need to talk to him. Did he approve this?"

Mike's face creased further. "Who... who is thirteen?"

"Why are you calling me “L”? My name is Eleven."

"Do you.... do you not remember the nickname I gave you?" Mike could feel the sting of tears again. Worried that El was going to need to be hospitalized. That she had seriously hurt herself. That she would never be able to remember. It wasn’t fair. He had just gotten her back.  

"This isn't funny anymore, Twelve." She grabbed at her head, a pang of pain bolting through. "WHERE is Thirteen?"

She knocked away Joyce's bandaids and first aid kit. "I don't need this shit. WHERE IS HE?"

“El?” Will appeared from his bedroom, looking both confused and concerned. “Mike? Lucas? What’s going on?”

Finally. Eleven felt a bit reassured. Thirteen always knew what to do. She rushed over to him. "Thirteen, what’s going on? What is this? Is this a test?"

Something was wrong. Very wrong. Mike knew it, Lucas knew it, and Joyce knew it.

"Thirteen, just tell me what you want me to do. I'll do it. You know I can deliver."

“El – I…what?” Will looked up at his friends and mother, bewildered.

“We’re right there with you, buddy,” Lucas muttered.

"El.... I think you're sick,” Mike reached out to place a gentle hand on her shoulder. “You aren’t making any sense. How do you feel? Do you want us to call Hopper?"

"WHY DO YOU KEEP CALLING ME THAT?" Eleven didn't think this was funny anymore. If this was a test, then fuck the test. Even Thirteen had no right to play this sick game.

She looked at Twelve, Fourteen, then Thirteen, "Why are you all dressed like this?" Thirteen kept his hair short and cropped, not like…a bowl. "Why are you _acting_ like this? Who the fuck is this woman? Where the FUCK is Fifteen and Sixteen?"

Something was wrong. Very wrong.

Mike dropped his hand from El's shoulder and stepped backward a few paces. He was growing anxious and apprehensive. Something was off, something about El was.... different. And dangerous.

 “Who do you think I am, El? And who is that?” Mike asked, pointing to Will.

"You're....you're Twelve. And that's fucking Thirteen! Our leader! What the FUCK do you mean who are you?!"

“Eleven, sweetie – ” The woman was speaking up again, as if she knew them, as if she were their equals.

"I don't know who the fuck you are lady, but you talk too much.” Eleven flicked her wrist and the woman fell back onto the couch. “You need to be aware of your betters."

“El, what are you doing??” Thirteen seemed strangely concerned about this woman. He had a terror stricken look in his eyes as he went to her. Thirteen never showed fear. It was a terrible and disquieting sight.

Eleven's mind was going a mile a minute. "What happened on August 4th, 2011? Someone tell me what happened that day. NOW."

It was Mike who spoke up first. "El-.... Eleven. Nothing happened that day. We didn’t even know you yet...."

"Nothing?" Then that meant....that’s why everything was the way it was. The woman’s house, stocked full of food. The presence of the woman herself, without any fear of the four of them. And…and her the boys. Their bright clothes and stupid hair. It explained everything. This wasn't her world.

That Demogorgen - he must have pushed her through that portal. Those stupid bullshit portals Brenner was always trying to make her open.

And if August 4th, 2011 had just been any other day then.. the monsters never took over.

This world was still fresh. This world was still thriving.

But that meant....that really _wasn't_ Thirteen, and that really wasn't Twelve or Fourteen. They were still back in the real world.

"The lab. Do you - do you have a lab here?"

Mike took a deep breath. "Yes. Its near hear. Don’t you remember?"

Eleven turned to look at Twelve - no, this world's version of Twelve. What had they called him? _Mike._ "You and....and _Will_...do you have any powers?"

"No, of course not... we don’t have any powers like you do. El, I think you hit your head really badly –”

Eleven smiled. This was going to be easy.

"I need to go to the lab."

This world would be theirs for the taking. Filled with pathetic, weak, normal humans. No monsters. No resistance.

"I don’t think that’s a good idea," Mike chewed on his lip, unsure of what was happening. He felt strange, like he didn’t know the person in front of him. But that was ridiculous. This was El. _El_ , in the flesh. He had held her in his arms.

Eleven turned to _Mike_. The sight of him disgusted her. "Do you know who I am _Mike_?"

The look she gave him made Mike’s skin crawl. Something had happened to El. Maybe she was possessed as Will had been, maybe she injured herself beyond repair, maybe she saw something that triggered her to act this way. But it felt... wrong. "You are Eleven. You are from Hawkins National Lab. I met you two years ago, and you went missing two days ago. We found you and now.... No. I don’t think we should go to the lab."

“This doesn’t feel right, guys,” Lucas hands were clenched tightly at his sides, betraying his calm tone of voice.

“I-I agree,” the little twit that had Thirteen’s face was approaching her. He was so meek and timid. It made Eleven want to laugh. “El, when I came back from the Upside Down, sometimes, I-I got these flashbacks, too. Where I wasn’t myself. It feels like you can’t control it, right? Like you try and try and you want to so bad, but you can’t snap out of it, right?”

He offered his hand to her. “We can help each other, okay? We can help each other snap out of this.”

"You need help snapping out of it?" She pouted. Then she swept her hand at him, at them all, sending everyone flying across the room. "That oughta wake you up!"

The Mike boy had the audacity to stumble back on his feet. “EL! This isn’t YOU!”

"Wrong, you weak fuck. I AM Eleven, but you’ve never met me." They were all cowering now, stunned from fear and shock. And, she guessed, probably physical injury. "I'm from, I guess _we're_ the Upside Down to you. And now I'm here. This world is clean. No monsters. Me and my friends would love it here."

“No…Mom? Mike? This…this can’t be happening…” The Will boy looked like he had tears in his eyes.

"You don't deserve this world. You're weak.” She had to get going now. No more time to waste. If she was right, the lab would just be exactly where it had been in her world.

“I am going to the lab. I am going to bring all my friends here. We'll have a great time."

All Mike could do was gape at this person who looked just like the girl he loved, but wasn’t. Not even close. She was like some sort of disease.

He scrambled to his feet, trying to think of a plan of attack. Some sort of way to stop this from happening. He thought of the closed portal. He thought of going inside with her, and pulling out the real El, and leaving this person inside to rot. "STOP. I’ll do it. I’ll take you to the lab."

Eleven stopped dead in her tracks, hearing his offer. She smiled.

She walked up to _Mike_. He looked so much like her Twelve.

She put her hand out to him.

And closed her fist tight. He started to choke.

She lifted him easily by his weak throat. His feet dangled helplessly in the air. "You're lucky you have his face."

She threw him across the room and walked out the door.

Eleven walked outside.

There were two cars in the driveway. She got in one; she would use her powers to drive. She dislodged a nearby tree trunk and dumped it on the other car, totalling it. "If ANY of you follow me, I'll fucking KILL YOU."

Then, she was gone.


	5. The Sister

_One Week Earlier_

It had been happening for the last few days. At first, Kali couldn't believe it.

A single blue butterfly was dancing around her shared room with Mick.

She was laying in their bed, just out of a fit of restless sleep, and there it was. Fluttering by like it was supposed to be there. Kali was exceptionally confused. When she went to touch it, her hand passed right through. Just like her typical projections. Only this time, she wasn't the one doing it.

It seemed rather harmless, just floating above her head, minding its own business. Her fear withered away after the second day of the unwelcome visitor. Kali didn't dare tell Mick, or any of the others for that matter. While they all knew each other inside and out, this was something she knew they wouldn't understand. No one did. No one but one.

Eleven. Jane.

She had been on Kali's mind since the night she ran back home.

On the fifth day, while she was playing with the butterfly, Kali began to mindlessly follow it outside. The gang were still laying low after their last confrontation with the cops, so she hadn't found herself wondering the streets in a while. She missed the city life, the people, the music. The safety of her friends was just more important.

But today, she wondered outside.

The blue butterfly flew as if it was on some sort of mission, turning back to Kali every once in a while to see if she was still following. Kali suddenly got a tight feeling in her stomach, one that made her fill with dread. Something was wrong. Impending doom filled Kali's senses, and she began to chase after the butterfly as it flew faster and faster. Eventually, as she ran around the Chicago's nightlife, she ended up on a bus. Not even thinking about it for a second, Kali got on and sat in the seat the butterfly perched on. Wherever she was going, she knew one thing for sure.

Jane was going to be there.

-

_The Present_

Eleven pulled up to the lab. It was an old and familiar sight. She had spent nearly all of her life here, until that day when all hell broke loose.

She couldn't help but feel a chill go up her spine as she walked past its doors again, remembering _Papa_ and all his sick goons, who had controlled her every waking moment for most of her childhood.

Eleven walked back into the very room where they had killed him. At least, it had been this room in the real world. Her world.

It hadn’t been hard to find. It was the only room in the entire place that was sealed off.  

Brenner had forced her to spend months in this room.

_No, Papa, no. I don’t want to._

Trying to force a Gate open. She remembered it well.

_Papa! PLEASE, Papa!_

She could never forget it.

 _Eleven, stop. Eleven, you must obey me!_

The day it went up in flames had been a good day.

_No, YOU obey. BEG, Papa. Beg me for your life._

They'd finally been free. She still remembered the look on Brenners' ugly fucking face when the Party finally caught up to him.

_Please…God…._

He had died screaming.

_Pray to ME, not to God._

She had loved every minute of it.

This room though…. looked a little different. It looked burnt, as if someone had opened and then resealed a Gate here before.

She shrugged. Whatever. Who knew what these animals got up to in this world.

Throwing up her hands, Eleven concentrated on focusing her mind at the burnt out space in the wall, where a Gate surely had to have been.

It hurt.

This wasn’t just any old portal. Eleven knew this space was special, just as it was in her world. The spot where the veil that separated her world and this one was thinnest. The Gate would be massive, and opening it would not only allow her friends to cross through, but all the other ghouls and monsters of her world. They would ruin this world just as they did hers.

But Eleven wasn’t worried. She and her friends could take care of themselves. The humans here would probably die, but the Party would have fun.

She thought of them now. Her friends. How they were all waiting for her on the other side. How much fun they would all have.

She thought of Twelve.

She screamed. It hurt so much, more than she had remembered. But she had to keep going. It was working. The Gate was opening.

-

Kali walked up to the lab with weak knees.

The outside of the place of her lifelong imprisonment. The epitome of everything that was ungood. It was the place that made her who she was; _what_ she was. A monster of its own kind.

While she lost control of her humanity, her powers had only grown stronger outside of the lab walls.

She was afraid to step inside.

The blue butterfly persisted, though. It nearly whispered to her.

 _Jane is inside. Your sister. She needs you_.

Kali swallowed dryly. It wasn't in her nature to be heroic, but she knew something was off, wrong, different. It made her stomach turn in a way it hadn’t in years. God, she fucking hated it here.

As she walked up the steps to the large white doors, she heard a twig snap behind her.

Hands raised in the offense position, she was ready to fight whatever or whoever came near

What greeted her instead was a black-haired boy, barely a hundred pounds it seemed. He looked weak and tired, but determined.

"Who are you? Tell me, or I'll get rid of you." Kali was firing on all cylinders, ready to strike.

Mike looked up at the voice. He didn’t know this person, but honestly he didn’t have the fucking time.

For all he knows its one of those people Eleven, that _fake_ Eleven was talking about.

He wiped at the tears around his eyes and the snot from his nose. He was fucking over it. Sick and tired and running on less than two hours of sleep.

He dragged a bat listlessly behind him that he had stolen from the Byers’ garage before leaving them behind.

"Look. I need to get in there. It’s not safe here, and you should go home."

Kali looked him over once, twice. There wasn't an intimidating bone in his body.

She felt fleeting pity for him, seeing him worn out but still fighting. It reminded her a little bit of her past self. Defenseless, tired, but with a look that could kill in her eyes.

This boy's eyes showed the same.

"I can take care of myself." A beat of silence. "What is inside?"

It looked abandoned on the outside. Something in Kali's heart yearned.

_Jane Jane Jane_

Mike straightened up as much as his tired and aching bones would allow.

Something about this person felt.... safe. Like she wasn’t fucking crazy at least. She looked like someone who lived on the streets, in some big city.

She definitely wasn’t from Hawkins.

"Who are you?”

Kali wasn't one for questions, or games. She didn't dance around the subject, and she definitely wasn't here to babysit.

"Look. If you are not Jane, I am not interested in speaking with you. Turn back." Another pause. "Or else."

She wondered briefly what image would most make him afraid. It couldn't be too hard to figure out; he was worn out anyway. She'd make him run.

Jane. Jane. That was El's real name. Mike nearly choked. It all clicked into place. That this person HAD to be the sister that El had talked about. The one she ran away to Chicago for.

Who else would be here in the middle of the night? Who else would care about breaking into the stupid lab?

Suddenly Mike was filled with a new reassurance. a second – no, more like a twentieth wind.

"You’re looking for El. You aren’t going to find her in there, that’s an imposter."

He collected himself "I’m… I’m Mike Wheeler. I know your sister."

Just as Kali lifted her hand to cast what she thought of as her spell, she froze.

_Eleven Eleven Eleven_

Sirens were blaring in her mind, and just as this Mike Wheeler said her name, the butterfly flew over to him.

It gently landed on the crown of his head. As he cocked his head to the side, the butterfly finally vanished.

It had found its owner.

"You know Jane." It wasn't a question.

Kali's offensive hand lowered, and then turned so that it was her opening her palm for him to take. "Take me to her, Mike Wheeler. Now." She urged.

Any friend of Jane’s was a friend of hers.

Mike stiffened, but nodded. "It’s... more complicated than it seems. The… _person_ inside that building," he gestured with his bat, "That isn’t El. That’s some sort of fucked up version of her. El is.... trapped somewhere. Dead for all I know, but I’m going to go get her back.... at least I’m going to try... but you... you have powers. You can kill that monster right?"

Kali nodded stiffly. She could trick it, perhaps. Like a modern god of chaos. Her gun felt weighted and heavy in her pocket.

"We can try. Together."

She didn't quite understand what was going on, but one thing was for sure. Her vision was supposed to lead her to this boy. And they were going to go in as a team.

"Show me. Inside."

Mike nodded. He walked past her without another word, bat at the ready, turning it in his hands. He wished he had grabbed the spiked one from Steve.

He ducked through a small hole cut in the chain link from adventures before, leading El's sister to the padlocked doors.

The padlock had been broken. That monster had been here.

He walked inside; there was no going back now.

-

The portal was getting bigger.

It was taller than her now, and ever widening. Beyond, she could see the burnt out confines of her world's lab.

A growling rumbled in the distance, beyond.

The lab had been ground zero for the monster outbreak. There were probably still dozens of them left in the lab, nesting there. They would probably be the first to come through.

Eleven didn’t mind. She could handle them. It was the humans who would die. She and her friends would live like kings here. 

She needed just a little more time, to make this stable. Then she could go through and find the Party.

-

Kali walked briskly in front of Mike, walking through the halls easily. Oh, how she wished she could forget the layout of this place.

Her ears were perked, waiting to hear any sign of life or disturbance. After a few swift turns, Kali finally came upon her.

Jane.

Or what was masquerading as her.

Mike tensed at the sight of that.... thing... His heart lurched. It looked like her, it talked like her, he had been a fool to think it was her.

"Eleven." It was the only thing he could think to say.

Eleven turned, hearing her name. It was the scrawny boy who looked like Twelve. What a joke he was.

And beside him....it was....

"Eight?" It couldn’t be. “You're....dead."

"Eleven. I came looking for you..." Kali's words died in her throat. Dead? Not yet, not quite yet. Someday, though. "What are you talking about?"

Eleven shook her head to clear it. _Don't be stupid. This wasn't Eight. Not my Eight._

Her Eight had died a long time ago, protecting them.

"Well, here I am. You found me." Eleven grinned. “We're about to have alot of fun, Eight. Wanna join?"

"Not him though,” Eleven said, looking to _Mike_. “He dies."

Kali took a step in front of Mike, putting herself between them. This person wasn't an imposter... No. But this person felt like a loose snake. Dangerous and cunning.

Kali saw herself once again, reflected in the eyes of this predator.

Luckily, Kali knew a thing or two about manipulation.

"What kind of fun?" Kali asked.  

"This world, it’s so boring. It’s full of…people. _Regular_ people.” Eleven looked disgusted. She nodded her head towards the ever-widening Gate in front of them, and the cold, dead world of the Upside Down beyond it. “In our world, Thirteen has people in chains, and we can ride them like ponies.”

Kali felt like a fool for not coming up with a plan with Mike Wheeler before entering this place. She could not have fathomed the erratic energy that protruded out of this Eleven.

"Did you know Twelve and Thirteen and the others? We adored you. You were our big sister. You protected us from Papa. I didn't think I'd find you here in this world too. I'm going to bring them all here. Help me."

Kali looked past Eleven, focusing on the portal being opened behind her. She had never seen anything quite like it.

Thinking fast, before she could even second guess what she was doing, Kali clenched her fist and projected the first few images she could think of.  

She captures Mike's eye, recreating that same blue butterfly that was with her before. It floated over to Mike's ear, and he can't look away. It whispered quiet in his ear.

_You're invisible. Go inside the portal. Find Jane._

"I want to help you." Kali says easily, with a smile on her lips. "What would you want me to do?"

Eleven smiled, feeling a sudden wave of relief, and calm. It was almost hypnotizing.

She was just like their Eight. Just like her.

"Join me. We all have the ability to open these Gates. Papa made sure of that. He was obsessed with them. I just need to...I need to stabilize it..."

Mike gaped at the image he saw. He tested it for a moment. As silently as possible, he stepped past Eleven and into the portal.

When Eleven made no sign that she could see him, he held his breath, and stepped all the way into the slimy membrane separating his world from the Upside Down beyond.

In an instant he is back in that place of death and decay. He can hear rumbling..... and growling.

He slipped against a wall in a parallel lab, with hallways much like the one he had just left behind.

-

El didn't want to be back here.

This was the last place she ever wanted to be, and it was certainly the last place she wanted to be in the Upside Down.

But the portal had closed, taking that girl and the Demogorgen with it. She hadn’t been able to locate a single other portal, and she didn't have the strength to make another one.

So she had headed to the one place she knew had the best chance of having a portal or gate in all of Hawkins, Upside Down or otherwise. She was back in the lab.

-

Kali gave Eleven a toothy grin, trying to mimic the same demeanor that this other Eleven gave off.

Kali only had one plan and one chance to do it.

"Yes, I remember the Gate.” She didn't. It must have been repressed, somewhere deep within her. "Let me help you open it further. Then we can have our fun."

Kali's legs were shaking, just she kept her hands still with false confidence.

Eleven felt calm, compliant. She felt safe, and enveloped in warmth. She knew she could trust Eight. "Yes, we'll do it together.”

-

Mike slid along the length of a wall. He could hear the vague rumblings of God knows what lurking around behind closed doors and dark corridors.

He gulped, trying to be silent as he can. Whenever he looked up, that small butterfly was flickering in and out like a bad satellite image, but still present. It made him feel safe, if nothing else.

He continued walking, until he heard the sound of movement, not a Demogorgen, but that of another human..

-

Kali raised her hands, open palmed and vulnerable in front of the Gate.

She didn't take her eyes off of Other Eleven, watching her carefully and tactfully. She felt the hair rise on her arms. This building brought on feelings she had been pushing down for who knows how long, and this Eleven didn't help her hide from those emotions. This Eleven was starved for power and for her companions. Something evil danced in her eyes. Along with something else... Tenderness? For Kali? Kali shook her head briefly. No. That couldn't be it.

Darkness seethed off of this person. Nothing but darkness.

-

El heard something approach. She had been stuck in the Upside Down for what felt like days, and she was going almost crazy with stress and hunger. Without thinking, she used her powers to shove whatever had made that noise up against the wall, holding it there. "Don't come any closer!"

-

Slowly, Kali projected an image over Other Eleven's eyes, and was putting her entire being into keeping it playing in Eleven's mind.

Kali made Eleven hallucinate that the portal was growing stronger; gaining power; stabilizing. It wasn't.

In reality, it was weakening with the time that Eleven and Kali had been talking. Kali knew she couldn't break her concentration, or surely her secret would be revealed. This was all an act. It was all a trick of the eye.

-

Mike gasped in the silence of the hallway. El. _His_ El. The one that belonged in his world. The one he knows. The one he loves.

He hadn’t even known if she would even be alive, but here she was. " _El_!? Is that you!?"

"M-Mike?" El could hardly believe it. What was he doing here? "Are you...are you really Mike?"

Mike’s eyes flooded with tears. The bat fell to the floor with a dull thud that echoed off of the walls. "El..." He walked towards her.

She was dirty and her face sunken in, but it was her. He could see it in her eyes. "It’s... it’s really me. Is it really you?"

El hesitated, keeping her distance. The Upside Down was full of trickery.

"P-prove it. Prove you're you..."

She thought of something special, something only Mike would know. The real Mike. "November 6th...what happened on November 6th?"

Mike smiled faintly, wiping at his raw and tired eyes. "November 6th. I went walking in the woods with Lucas and Dustin to find Will, but instead, we found you. You didn’t talk, you were soaking wet, and I took you home. That day changed my life forever. That was the best day of my life. Despite everything, all of the bullshit that followed, that day was the best day of. My. Life."

Mike was shaking. He moved closer to her, more sure about this than anything before, and pulled her into him. "I- I thought you.... I thought you d-died. I thought I lost you again."

-

As the portal began to shrink and shrink, Kali knew she only had a limited amount of time before Other Eleven would be disillusioned and see what was happening before her.

Slowly, while Eleven was turned towards the portal, Kali reached into her pocket with her left hand and gripped the handle of her gun.

She was keeping her hallucination up perfectly, still somehow holding concentration as she brought the gun to the side of Other Eleven's face.

Beautiful, sweet Jane.

This being still held her appearance and it was hard to look at her silhouette and not feel tenderness and belonging. Family. They are the only two that can understand each other fully; no one else in the world could be what they were to each other.

Just as this thought crossed Kali's mind, Other Eleven turned to her and smiled. It displayed love, trust, and warmth. It made Kali's heart swell and simultaneously deflate.

She pulled the trigger on her sister, pointed straight at her left temple.

Eleven was overcome with a strange feeling. Her vision swam, and for a moment, instead of seeing a widening Gate, she saw a shrinking one.

Confused, she turned to look at Eight.

"Sister?"

Boom.

Eleven fell to the ground; motionless.

Kali had just killed someone other than the bad men.

She felt sprinkles of blood on her face.

Her sister's blood.

-

"Mike...." Overcome with emotion, El leaned into kiss him. When her lips touched his, she knew she had made the right choice. It really was Mike.

Mike leaned into the kiss, wanting to stay in the moment forever. Of safety and wholeness that was always so fleeting. Like she would fade from his fingertips at any moment.

Not if he could help it. He would die for her, she deserved that at the very least. She deserved better.

He broke the kiss only too whisper, still hovering close to her. "We have to go before the Gate closes." He reached down to grab her hand, and they ran in the direction he had come from.

Then they both heard it. Boom.

-

After Eleven fell to the ground, the Gate began to shrink at an alarming rate. Before she could even catch up with her emotions, Kali lifted her hands again and pushed with her body, _hard_.

-

El had never run harder in her entire life. She gripped Mike's hand tight.

-

Kali had never opened a Gate before, and she honestly didn’t know how she was doing it. But that other Eleven had been right. It seemed they all had that ability. The Gate didn’t stop shrinking under Kali’s efforts, but it slowed.

With all her might, Kali forced the Gate to stay open.

For Mike Wheeler.

For Jane.

-

El could see a bright light in the distance, and beyond, she could see a reflection of the same lab that they were in.

"Come on Mike! Let's go home!"

The Gate was closing, shrinking. Kali fell onto her knees.

They were almost there. Just…a little bit…more.

El could see her. Kali! Kali just beyond, holding the Gate open. It was smaller than either Mike or El now. El gripped Mike’s hand harder than ever, and together, they both took the leap.

-

They spilled out of the Gate just as it closed around Mike’s ankle. They collapsed onto the floor, inches from the imposters body.

El was panting, exhausted, trying to take in everything that had happened.

Someone was lying at her feet, unmoving.

"Who-" She screamed when she saw its face. It was her.

Mike reached out listlessly for El, pulling her to him on the ground, avoiding the blood and the grime.

Kali had fallen to the ground, on her hands and knees. She was in excruciating pain from the exertion, but it paled in comparison to how her heart felt weakened in her chest. She had watched her sister die by her own hand. Suddenly, as Mike and Jane, her Jane, spilled out of the portal, she could only weakly smile. They were safe.

El was in a state of shock, kicking the thing away from her. "Who- what- what is going on?"

"Jane." Kali whispered.

“Kali!” El didn’t hesitate. She flung herself into Kali's arms, enveloping her into a hug. A million questions ran through her head.

How did she get here? What was she doing here? How did she find her? Did she open the Gate? Did she know how?

But it didn't matter. Not right now.

The events of the past few days finally began to sink in on her. El sunk into Kali's arms, sobbing.

As Jane cried, a small piece of Kali's heart restored itself. This was what she was traveling for, looking for, yearned for. Her sister. Her real, true sister.

Kali felt almost dizzy with relief, encasing Jane in a tight and secure hug. It wasn't as strong as Hopper's fatherly hugs, but it was something. It was _everything_.

Mike stood up behind the girls. shaking and sobbing for what felt like the hundredth time in the last two days. He smiled tenderly. Kali seemed like a good person. Good for El. Good for Hawkins.

"Shh, Jane. Shh. You're okay. We are together. I'll keep you safe." Kali glanced up over Jane's shoulder, making eye contact with Mike. She just nodded once to him, conveying all she could. " _We'll_ keep you safe."

Mike smiled weakly back at the older girl before him, and wrapped his arms around the pair. “Promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End. 
> 
> Eleven's friends come for a visit in the follow-up fic, "In A Mirror, Darkly."

**Author's Note:**

> Give us the kudos. We need the kudos. (Also thank you for reading)


End file.
